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Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 2580707 times)

* Used soap to shower that is left over from our holiday in December.* Put a plug in the sink to catch and reuse hand washing water.* Planned a meal for dinner with less meat (1 chicken breast for four, swapped out tofu -http://www.planbuycook.com.au/cook/coconut-noodle-soup/#more-2573)* Left the air conditioner off till after lunch time.* DH had to go to the doctor to get a blood test referral to check his low iron and high cholesterol were improving. We made sure to get all the advice on how to go off his medication etc and told the doctor to ring us as we didnít want to come back in and pay another fee for results.* Let my daughter take our one car to work rather than driving her to save on the back and forth driving.

A couple of day's worth:-Got a few things taken care of at the same time at a doctor's appt (flu shot, TB test for school volunteering & xray). Avoids repeat trips.-Charged electric car for free at work-Free breakfast/snacks/lunches-Got home late last night (12 hour day) & avoided takeout. Waited until I got home to eat the remainder of leftovers everyone saved for me

Brought lunch from home (somehow homemade pizza dough got better leftover ... that rarely happens)Drank my coffee at work with reusable Keurig cup (the guilt of those throw away pods ...)Finished taxes and will get $20 off Turbotax if I file soon and 7.5% back from ebates, not shabbyTracked down three orders on ebates that hadn't credited to my cash back yet, about $3

* Spread another five gallon bucket of worm castings over the raspberry bed. Eyeballing it, I *think* this is a $20 value? It's made from household food waste and garden prunings, so yay for making something from nothing.

* Accepted my mom's gift of a padded bedcover for my toddler.

* Watered potted plants and herb bed with graywater.

* Eating down those leftovers.

* Cleaned and repaired ($20) our used jogging stroller in hopes of keeping it on the road for the foreseeable future.

-Free meals at work-Created yet another meal out of leftovers. The kids had leftover taco fixings, and the adults had leftover kebabs & rice. I might make pizzas out of the very last smidges of both dinners. I find naan pizzas are a good way to use up the last of everything.

* borrowed a sander from the neighbour to do our floorboards rather than buying one* cooked with less meat (added two cans of beans to 500g of mince to make 8 dinners with rice or baked potato)* cooked an apple crumble for dessert in the oven at the same time as I cooked the potatoes to go with the chilli, saving gas.* washed with left over holiday soap again as we have since December. Thank you Hawaii hotel for resupplying every day!* my daughter needed paintbrushes for craft as we had thrown hers out, but after searching through my supplies I found a set, so I didnít have to buy any. Previously I would have just put it on my shopping list.

- Brought back leftovers from a work dinner from my conference and ate them for lunch today.

- Bought my sister theater tickets using my cash back card. She got a discount because I'm a subscriber and I get cash back on the transaction. She'll pay me back via venmo.

- Husband agreed to go to no cable!!!!!! We are going to "try it out" and just use our streaming services (netflix and Amazon video). My parents who share my netflix subscription said we could log in with their info for anything we want to watch on normal cable. Should save me around $50 a month.

- He also agreed to throw some money at our mortgage principal so we can get out under PMI. We've set aside money for a fence, but I've talked him into putting that towards the mortgage so we can enjoy the view longer. Our dog has survived the past 6 years without a fenced in yard, he can hold out til summer. This also gives us more time to see if either of our neighbours will put one up saving us from fencing that section.

- Planning out the use of a bunch of birthday coupons. 2 are for a free meal without additional purchase so will save for work/travel lunches.

-Walked to the grocery store. Gorgeous sunny out, and I found a route that lets us take quiet side streets almost the whole way! --Passed a relative on the way over. We helped set up a ladder so they can paint part of their house. They're going to loan us their pressure washer. This'll save us the $50-100 rental cost from home depot. --Massive sale on chocolate at the grocery store thanks to valentine's day. Husband and I keep fancy chocolate on hand and have a little square each day. It was 30% off (they never go that low on the stuff we like) so we bought 10 bars =) --On the way back home, passed another neighbor. Chatted for a moment, and she gave us some irises! Which is perfect, since the weekends plan has some major landscaping already penciled in. I had planned day lillies for the spot, but the irises will totally fulfill the same idea. And free!

* Free entertainment - went on a 7 mile hike, straight up then straight down so it was also a hell of a leg workout.

* Packed a lunch to eat at the top -- made a vegan sandwich out of leftover roasted peppers, sweet potatoes and hummus. OMG, most delicious sandwich I have ever had. Who woulda thunk sweets on a sandwich were so yummy?!?!?!

* Having friends over for a board game night. I'm making scratch pizza and we are supplying booze in the form of white Russians made from our DIY Kahlua. A very cheap evening of entertainment. It's been a month since we have gone out for entertainment with friends, we've been opting for in-house options instead!

-Free car charging, breakfast & lunch at work -Repurposing leftovers for dinner-Tomorrow, using a gift card (gift from an employer) to treat myself to a 90 minute massage at a fancy pants spa for my birthday. SO excited!

I realized that I could return $255 in parts I bought to repair my car (which incidentally just proved I had a different problem) and spend less than that to completely replace the problematic system with a modern version.

For the gearheads, converting an early 90's igniter/coil/wires setup to coil on plug. $50 for four coils, $10 for four connectors, $8 for ECU wiring pigtails, $70 tach adapter, ~$50 in wire (buying way more than I need because I have other uses for it), and $11 in crimp connectors (I already have wire loom/tape/etc to build the harness). $109 vs $255, and a superior solution anyway!

-Husband is doing a minor (for him) repair for the neighbor, but it requires a $250 part. We ordered it on our amazon card, so we'll get the rewards points (5%). Plus, neighbor usually throws in a bottle of something tasty as a thanks. Today he sent husband home with Halibut, King Salmon, and venison jerky. Not a bad deal for a short period of work for hubby and good neighbor relations. -$1.99/lb asparagus. We got 3 massive bundles. I'm going to gorge myself silly, like I do every time it goes on sale. (Already ate 1 whole bundle)-Talked about the supplements my RE has me on to my acupuncturist. She signed me up through a subscriber web portal she has. I'll be able to get all my stuff for 15% off now.

I spent a few hours in court today (for work). I had my first cup of coffee while still in the office, then I went to the courthouse and drank coffee from the free vending machine there. It's not just free, it's a really fancy machine that offers 5 types of coffee in 3 different strenghts and 3 types of hot chocolate and there's a water cooler as well. I really don't get why everyone walks in carrying cups of take-out coffee.

I spent a few hours in court today (for work). I had my first cup of coffee while still in the office, then I went to the courthouse and drank coffee from the free vending machine there. It's not just free, it's a really fancy machine that offers 5 types of coffee in 3 different strenghts and 3 types of hot chocolate and there's a water cooler as well. I really don't get why everyone walks in carrying cups of take-out coffee.

I would love to have this vending machine in my office! My client's place currently only provides water... So it's been a real challenge for me not to grab some tea/a drink for the afternoon.

- I'm trying to use up some ingredients in my pantry and fridge so I made hummus, granola and bagels. - no Starbucks so far in February!- I ran out of my regular coffee at home but remembered I had 4 bags in the pantry that I bought for $2 a bag. It's not as good as my favorite brand but it's ok and I'm going to drink it until it's gone.- I have had a cup of tea every afternoon because I have sooo much in my pantry

-Used gift card for fancy pants spa/massage. May have gone anyway, as it's my favorite birthday treat, but free was the best way!-Avoided ordering lunch or picking anything up on the way out, and had soup from the freezer for a late lunch when I got home. -Drove electric car for errands not in walking distance-Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

We brought a one year gym membership for both of us this year. We've been going often so thrilled to calculate that each session costs about $2. Full price aqua aerobics is $12 so, for us, the upfront cost has been justified. Also, feeling much stronger and more flexible.

Took my 12 year old son on "a day of adventure" instead of our usual froyo or bakery visit. We went to a state park we had never visited that is a 1.5 hour drive away (we have an annual state park pass, so no day use fee). I packed plenty of snacks and a lunch. We went on a long hike, explored the remains of a 100 year old homestead (the old dumping grounds were the most interesting find!), and had 3 hours in the car where we had long and interesting talks about everything from the nature of hydrogen bonds to his worries about moving, and on to his emerging change of heart about girls. Well worth the small amount of gas the Prius used for the adventure!

Best part? At bed time yesterday I got a huge hug and a request to do Friday adventures as a thing instead of Friday sweet treat dates. The cost may even out with gas factored in, but the value for money spent will be much higher, which I say is a money saving victory! :D

I went to an event today, where the entry fee is sponsored for me by the club. I only needed to buy my own train tickets, but I bought a weekly ticket that DH can use the rest of the week to work. I received free lunch and free tea and cake. I did not spend 1800 or 2500 USD on a microscope that was sold there. (One of my facebook friends there ordered two, because it was nice to use for his kids...).I did however order a brand new not-commercial book about the subject, but it was a cheap book (20 USD) compared to many alternatives on the market.

I did join people there for drinking beer in the city later at night. Went home and made dinner from what was in the house.

I walked to and from the train station, about 2 km each way, with a very steep uphill home.

Closed my Chase Sapphire card to avoid the $450 annual fee coming up next month. Made sure to cash out the few remaining points and bought a Marriott gift card with the remainder of my unused travel spend.

Applied and accepted for the American Express Blue Cash card for my next CC hack.

- Wandered along my favourite shopping street in the sunshine, and didn't go in anywhere (window shopping is just as good!)- Decided to take a book out from the library rather than buy it- Didn't buy some DIY beauty things I've been eyeing, since I don't have firm applications yet and might buy too much/never use them

-Bought an incredible squat rack for our home gym for $80. Old, but very solid steel and good welds. Very, very heavy, haha. Unloading it was an adventure, but we got it done!-Did lots of youtube time and a couple articles and pruned my own japanese maple. It was neglected by the previous owner, and I was honestly a little terrified to do it! I had no idea how easy the dead wood is to identify until I started. Not sure how much I saved over hiring it out, but I'm sure it was a chunk! -Hitting valentine's sales for cheap delicious fruits and veg that are normally spendy- asparagus and fresh strawberries. Also did a big dark chocolate stock up last week. -Been roasting our own almonds and trying different spices etc for tasty work treats. Our favorite so far has been shoyu+sesame oil. -Going to use some very mushy bananas for 2 ingredient cookies =)

I did again travel back and forth to the city with the already purchased weekly ticket. Walked to and from the train station. Got free lunch at the event, free drinks and cookies. I did not buy lottery tickets to win stuff I didn't need. Received two free reflexes. On the way back, I really wanted to buy loose candy in the shop at the train station, where I have bought this all too often for many years when I worked in the city. But they have stopped selling candy in loose form. Good for me and I didn't buy a packed replacement.I looked at the magazines, as I have next week off. But I didn't buy a magazine. I guess I could rather read one of my Kindle books. I ate a leftover from the freezer for dinner. But I aplurged on opening a bottle of (reasonably priced, but quite good) German Riesling.Yesterday I hung the laundry up to dry on a rack in the bathroom.

- I worked both days this weekend and brought all my coffee and food from home. I noticed today how many of my coworkers were carrying a Starbucks coffee cup!- My husband took the boys to a Cub Scout event while I worked and they got free pizza for lunch and a pie to bring home which we are all having for lunch today. - I made my menu plan for the week based on what we have in the house. We are going on vacation in 8 days so it will be good to empty out the refrigerator and freezer. - Made more homemade hummus.

I made homemade yogurt. Used almost a full 64 oz container of milk. I had to buy some yogurt as a starter so that cost me more than it should but it will get used. I made it in the Instant Pot and it came out fantastic. My first try and I am hooked because I hate the price of Greek yogurt! So, now that I know how to make it, I will be able to eat more yogurt at a reasonable price. Today the Hub made poached chicken breasts. They will get sliced up for sammies and some will go in the freezer. I also have an enchilada recipe and a chicken corn chowder I want to make. Will get a lot of use out of them. I will also make a yogurt pie. It requires about 16 oz of yogurt, Cool Whip and sweetened fruit mixed together then put into a graham cracker crust. Then freeze. Easy and delish! Oh, forgot, the broth used to poach the chicken can be used to make a few cups of chicken soup. It was flavored with some herbs, lemon and ginger root. So much food, so little time to eat it!

- Had to stock up my new kitchen, drove to the discount grocery store and got all the deals. - Went to a local fruit/meat market and got aspergus for .77$/lb!! YASS. - Kept the house at 15-18 deg all weekend. - Did a mega cooking day to prevent any take out purchases for the next...forever.

I'm at my parents for 4 days, so no grocery spendMet up with hometown friends with only non-spend activities. Went for a walk with one and just chilled at home with some drinks (non alcohol in my case) with the others. Two of the girls went to a bar later, I decided to just head home.